About Us

History & Staff

We have years of experience caring for families, from all walks of life. Each family comes to us because they know we are leaders in our profession, dedicated to excellence in service, and have the highest integrity.

Our History

Mr. & Mrs. Waitt purchased an old estate home property and spent about a year converting the historic (over 100 year old) residence into a funeral home. "The homelike atmosphere was kept so our families would be comfortable." The grand opening was held in June of 1965.

When the funeral home opened, Marlboro Township had a population of about 4000 people. Over the years, the funeral home has grown to accommodate the ever growing population of Marlboro Township and the surrounding communities of Matawan, Aberdeen, Keyport, and Holmdel. In the 1980’s an addition was built on the building to enhance the chapel size and areas for families and their visitors. In 2000, future funeral director and owner, David Hernandez began working as an apprentice and in 2001 Michael V. Grandi started as a funeral director and quickly became the manager of Waitt Funeral Home. Again there was a need to enhance and renovate the building and throughout 2002 and 2003 an extensive restoration was completed. The renovation included repairs to the 100 year old building, new roofs, bathrooms, arrangement room, and lobbies much of how the building looks today.

As word of our service and beautiful facilities spread, families began to use our funeral home from neighboring towns. The need arose for a new location in the town of Old Bridge in Middlesex County. In May 2007 the doors of Old Bridge Funeral Home opened to the community. Old Bridge Funeral Home was built on the solid reputation of families first and has grown to become the premier funeral home for families in Old Bridge and surrounding areas such as East Brunswick, Spotswood, and South River.

In October of 2012, Grace Tabernacle was purchased by David Hernandez and his family to convert the church into a state of the art funeral home. Two weeks later Hurricane Sandy devastated the area with a direct hit on Lake Como and the towns along the Jersey Shore. It was after seeing the devastation to our town that a new purpose and design was applied to the construction of the funeral home. Changes were made to create an atmosphere that captures the beauty of the surrounding "shore" area and natural light with each sunrise over the ocean. Construction began once again on the Grace Tabernacle building, converting the building into the future Oceanside Memorial Home. In October of 2013, construction completed and the doors opened to families in need. Oceanside Memorial Home opened to immediately begin receiving the trust of families in need. Oceanside Memorial boasts a 250 seated chapel, family centers, elevator, and is one of the most state of the art facilities in the area.

David Hernandez, his wife Stacey, and family are committed to provide dignified and meaningful services to honor the memory of loved ones.

“We treat each family as if they were our own, tailoring special services designed as unique as the life lived.”

A Note from David and Michael....

We realize that you have a wide selection of funeral homes in this area to choose from, all offering caring compassionate services. At Waitt & Old Bridge Funeral Homes we do more and have been doing it for almost 50 years. Everyone is special, and every funeral is special. We make it personal. Most funeral homes in our area are family owned, but, do you meet with the directors who live, work and worship in your hometown? We take great pride in our social responsibility and volunteer in numerous organizations in town. Our locations are new, accommodating, convenient, our prices are fair, and we are 100 % honest, We are professional, we do not cut corners, our motto is “to treat all families as we would our own.” For the thousands of families who have put their trust in us, we thank you, and for families looking for professional, honest and caring services, we strive to earn your trust.

Respectfully,

David Lee Hernandez, Jr. & Michael V. Grandi

Management Team

David Lee Hernandez Jr., Founder, Principal

A Native of Northeast Philadelphia, after graduating high school from Calvary Christian Academy in Philadelphia, he relocated to Morganville, where he began his career as a mortuary science apprentice. David continued his studies where he earned an Associates of Science Degree and a Certificate of Proficiency in Funeral Services. He became a licensed funeral director in May of 2004, and later continued his education in Legal Studies at St. John’s University, New York.

He acquired his first funeral homes in 2009, and has currently grown to operate Jersey’s largest family owned funeral home company, known as Jersey Memorial Group. In addition to holdings in funeral service, he also publishes a newspaper, All Around Old Bridge and is active in venture capital investments through 29029 Ventures, which focuses on emerging products and services impacting the mind, body and soul of local communities.

David is active in each community the funeral homes serve; he is Charter Member and Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Manalapan, member of Old Bridge Kiwanis Club, member of the Friendly Sons of the Shillelagh in Belmar, trustee and board member of the Old Bridge- Sayreville- South Amboy Chamber of Commerce, board member of Pennsauken-Merchantville Area Chamber. He was recently elected to the foundation board of the Raritan Bay Medical Center Foundation in Old Bridge and Perth Amboy as the Vice Chair and Chair of Governance, as well as is a business leader in the Old Bridge Business Alliance. He has served as an officer in Middlesex Sommerset Funeral Directors Association and is also a member of NJ State Funeral Directors Association, and National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA). His firms are eight time NFDA Pursuit of Excellence Winners, and was recently awarded the Best of the Best Award from NFDA as the top funeral home operator in the Country. He has been named Business Leader of the Year in 2016 by Kiwanis Club of Old Bridge as well as in 2017 by the Chamber of Commerce.

He and his family attend Calvary Chapel Old Bridge and volunteers in various ministry opportunities. He is the chair of the Calvary Christian School ProVisionary Team and currently sits as an board member of the school. In addition to being a licensed funeral Director in New Jersey he also holds funeral director and embalmers licenses in Pennsylvania and Connecticut as well as a New Jersey Life Insurance Producers License. David enjoys spending time with his wife, Stacey, three children, Sophia, David Lee III, and Abigail. He also enjoys competitive fitness, snowboarding and golf.

David and his family strive to meet each family's needs with personalized and detailed services. His desire to help each family has led him to his motto of, "Each life has a story, and that story deserves to be told through meaningful tributes and celebrations of life."

Michael Vito Grandi, General Manager

Michael V. Grandi began his career in funeral service in 1998. He is a 2000 graduate of the Funeral Service program at Mercer County Community College and became a Licensed Funeral Director in November of 2000. His skills in embalming as well as his care and compassion for people elevated him to a Management position with Waitt Funeral Home in August of 2001. Michael also holds a New Jersey Life Insurance License, giving his firm the opportunity to offer alternative funding options to consumers who wish to prepay their funerals. Michael is a 8 time recipient of the Pursuit of Excellence award, the highest honor received in the industry for excellence in funeral service putting his firm in the top 2 percent of funeral homes nationwide.

He is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association which he serves as a Trustee, and the Academy of Professional Funeral Service Practice. His community involvement is wide spread and he is a charter member and has served 3 years as the President of the Kiwanis Club of Marlboro, 2 years as its secretary and now is the current Treasurer. Michael has remained a member of the Matawan Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce since 2001 and is currently a member of the board. He is a member of the Matawan Italian American Association and supports its charitable endeavors. He sits on the Supervisory Committee for Entertainment Industries Federal Credit Union. In 2013 he became a proud member of the Knights of Columbus Bishop John C. Reiss Council #15964 and earned his 4th Degree November 2, 2014. Michael is a communicant of St. Clement Church in Matawan and is part of the Lector Group. In his spare time he enjoys boating and playing golf. Michael is an avid toy train collector, his collection has been featured numerous times in various publications and well as a content contributor to magazines.

Michael continues to share his experience, knowledge and insight in funeral service, with the staff and families he serves.

"The pride comes from helping each family generate their own creative ideas which leads to the meaningful funeral that represents the life well lived, for those they loved."-Michael V. Grandi

Joseph C. DePasquale, Advance Planning Director

Joseph C. DePasquale was born and raised in Jersey City, NJ. And has been a resident of Manalapan for the last 25 years. Joe and his wife Keri, have three children David, Nicole, and Emily.

Joey became a Licensed Funeral Director after selling his own business and following his life long dream of becoming a Funeral Director. Joe feels the most important aspect of his career is being there for those families who need him during their time of grief.

Being a Funeral Director has been the most rewarding for him, not only spiritually, but knowing that when a family looses a loved one, he can be there to help and guide them through one of the most difficult times of their lives. Joe believes if he can make that transition just a little bit easier, his calling in life has been answered.

When Joey is not serving families, you can find him on his farm raising his award winning goats.

Daniel Korba, Funeral Director

Daniel J. Korba was raised in Old Bridge and East Brunswick Township, NJ. Upon graduating college, Dan studied for 3 more years in Catholic Seminary discerning his calling to the priesthood. After deciding to change his course of service, Dan attended the Mortuary Science Program at Mercer County Community College. He was licensed in 1992. Since then, Dan has developed superior technical skills, which combined with his zeal and compassion, is determined to lighten the burden of every family he encounters.

Dan and his wife Marilyn, and their daughter Rachel, moved to Freehold Township in 1999. Dan has served his community not only as a funeral director, but also as a volunteer firefighter for many years and is an ordained Sub-Deacon in his parish of St. Paul The Apostle Church.

Dan will hit the refresh button by his passion for landscaping, and maintaining the grounds around his Church, teeing up a golf ball, or hoping on his motorcycle and taking a long ride in the country. Dan also enjoys Karaoke, and is the reigning Southern Middlesex County Regional Karaoke Champion.

Lacy Conklin, Funeral Director

Lacy Conklin, a life long Jackson resident, joined the Jersey Memorial Group in the spring of 2018. She is a 2003 graduate of Jackson Memorial High School, a 2007 graduate of the Ocean County College Sign Language Interpreter Training Program, attended Temple University, and is a 2014 graduate of the Mercer County Community College Mortuary Science and Funeral Service Program. Lacy is a new mother, managing her home, family and life as a licensed funeral director. She came to Old Bridge Funeral Home to serve the town that was home to her parents and their families.

Lacy also a certified children's party planner specializing in doll and tea lunch parties.

Stacey Hernandez, Special Events Coordinator

Stacey Hernandez, joins our team as our special events coordinator. She is responsible for the many community events that are held within each of our home's local areas. She works diligently to create and implement programs that are dedicated to the memory of loved ones and for the families they leave behind. She was instrumental in creating one of our most cherished events, the Holiday Ornament Program, which is held every year.

Stacey also works as a licensed Radiologic Technologist in the Meridian Health System. A graduate of Marlboro High School in 2000, she later received her degree with honors in Health Sciences.

Stacey is a member of the Manalapan Kiwanis Club and attends Calvary Chapel Old Bridge.

She enjoys cooking, traveling and spending time with her family and children Sophia Gabrielle and David Lee III. Stacey is not licensed or able to make arrangements, embalm or direct funerals.

Leslie Fago, Executive Assistant

Leslie Fago Orlando was born and raised in New Jersey. She moved to Old Bridge in 2017 with her husband Christopher and son, Luca.

After losing her father unexpectedly and being impressed with the compassion and service her own family received at Old Bridge Funeral Home, she knew she wanted to be a part of the team that made them feel like family and at ease. In 2017 Leslie changed careers and became a part of Jersey Memorial Group as an executive assistant and assists in numerous responsibilities directly related to families. Leslie does a little bit of everything and enjoys that her job is different everyday. Most of all she enjoys helping out and making sure all the details are in order for the families during a difficult time in their lives. In her spare time Leslie enjoys spending time with her family, cooking, and going to concerts. Leslie also shares her passion for the arts and drawing by authoring many coloring books.

Lisa Ruiz, Funeral Director

Lisa Ruiz joined Jersey Memorial Group as an intern and quickly became an integral part of the team. She became a licensed funeral director and is fully bi-lingual in English and Spanish, she leads Funeraria Hernandez and specializes in repatriation services of loved ones to their home countries.

In her spare time she actively grows monarch butterflies, and raises awareness of butterfly conservation.

Karen Lamb, Funeral Director

Karen Lamb joined our team at the Inglesby & Sons in April 2014. She is a 2013 graduate of the Funeral Service program at Mercer County Community College and became a Licensed Funeral Director in January 2014.Karen is an active member of Operation Yellow Ribbon of South Jersey. In her spare time she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Same-day Hand Deliveryon All Sympathy Flowers by a Local FloristSend Flowers Now